For the last two years Adele has been studying Arts and Aesthetics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, taking one-on-one Hindi lessons with Language Must simultaneously. In an energetic interview Adele talks more about her decision to study in India, the importance of learning Hindi when living in Delhi and her experiences with Language Must.

Even if one's heart beats for Delhi, everyone needs a respite from the city from time to time: Adele in Nainital. (c) Adele Newman

Back in the year 2008, I was a second year student in University of Nottingham in England. Knowing that I would ‘enjoy’ the Chinese Spring festival in between exams, I decided to make the most of my Christmas holiday by traveling to the northern part of Great Britain. So the plan was to invite some friends to clean up my fridge on Christmas day and go for a 10 days journey in Scotland with two Chinese classmates. However, I was told on Christmas dinner that the two classmates who had already booked the trip (350 quid) didn’t bother going any more, since they felt like falling ill after a visit to London and thought Scotland would be cold as hell. My expectation of the journey went a ‘30% off’, yet I insisted on going alone.

When I arrived in India from the Netherlands for my internship it was Bipin who answered any question I had about Indian culture. For me, someone who has never been in India before, it was really nice to have someone who, as Indian, knows the Indian culture perfectly to help me explain things. Another reason why he knew so well how to help me was because he himself is also experienced in going abroad. So he knew exactly how you feel when you take the leap to study in a completely different culture. Since I was already curious about his experience in the UK I thought now would be the perfect time to interview him and share his experiences with you as well.

Nowadays, in India’s capital New Delhi everybody seems to be talking about the Commonwealth Games. New metro lines, construction of roads and flyovers, stadiums being renovated and many other buildings appearing out of nowhere, the whole of Delhi is changing under the impulsion of the Games. And that's only the beginning, as the Games start only in October. The vision of the Commonwealth Games is becoming increasingly visible all over Delhi – but what exactly is the Commonwealth?

The Commonwealth of Nations is an intergovernmental organisation of 54 member states on all the continents, bringing together about 30% of the world's population, which means around two billion people of diverse cultures and faiths.

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